Jewelry-box hinge



Jari. 19, 1926. 1,570,411

R. l. RHODES JEWELRY BOX amen Filed Nov. 25, 1924 fiveniov .Fuas 2 81/11 M6266,

' and objects of theinvention are to provide a simple, durable and reliable hinge having; the new and improved fea'turesiof .construc tion and arrangement hereinafterdescribed. 15,

1' To all whom it may con'crmt.

. followingisa specification. H e H V I T'hisinventionrelatesito, hinges .lfor boxes; a e

" .is pre ferably located'centrally between the ends'f of.thePstrap.".Attadhed tothe integral Patented Jan. 1 9 1925;

nseam filed N vemtei 25,1324, l'seri a l no. 752,175.

,Be it known that. I, "RUSSELL I. .a citizen ofthe-United "States of" Amerlca,

and resident of ]North ,Attleboro; in the countyof Bristol and State o f Massachuj I setts, have invented new'andusef il Improveges o 'tfwhrch the a ments, in Jewelry-Box Hin or cases such for exainplo as jewelry boxes preferred forms in the accompan 1 g. drawingsinwhich bodying the invention; 1

Fig. 1 is aperspedtiveofjewelryboxieme" straps;and r 1 Fig.3 isaperspective of the spring. 1

In the embodiment of the invention illus-f trated the jewelry boxvwhichmay be of cardQ board or other suitable material'comprises'ga bottonror body portion lto which thecover' or lid 2 is connected by means of a-hingeAI which consists of upper and lower hinge members connected to the cover and body of the box respectively. The hinge members aresimilarly constructed and each comprises a base plate3 of sheet metal or other suitable material connected to the" box structure extruded or struck-out prongs 4 which extend through and are bent over the cover 'or bottomrof the box as indicated a portion of' the plate being cut out as at 5 to reduce the Weight thereof toa minimum. It Will be observed that the plates 3 extenda substantial-s distance across thebox towardthe opposite end thereof so that in this manner'the strength ofthe box is materiallyxenhanced' and frequent opening and closing Will; not

operate to tear the hinge from the box,'it beingunderstood that ordinarily these boxes are constructed of comparatively easily-tearable material which isnot adapted to withstand excessive abuse.

I Integral with the plate 3 and extending at substantially right angles therefrom isa'leaf- 5 of approximately the same width as that of the adjacent box walljand connectedto the leaves 5 are a pair of hinge straps 6' and 7.;

Flexible metal clamps 8 extend through'the walls of the box, apertures in the leaves and apertures 9 in the straps registering thereanwnrnx-nox HInGn.

around a pin t s raps Emailed on-the free longitudinal edge of hl 'oflthe hingestraps 6 asby stamping is or' pressed" tow rd' each other.

'coveris finallyfclosed the bending moment] nrronns offlpnrn ATTLnBono; MAssAonU-smrs.

mesh with eaclr otherand which are-bent a n fintegral outwardlycurvedflip 1,1 which with for securely the several partstogether; Each zstrap formed with tin-e jtegralltabsor knuckles 10 arranged tointera ,60 v 'ereby hingedly to connect the i lips ill'jareghooked endportions 12of afllejaf.

liability as well as its simplicity.

the hinge members? are rotated about the; Q- pivot from the position in which the, box'is open to closed position, the hooked ends of the spring bear against the strapsfibending the body of thespring and also forcing the hooks farther apart. -Thus' it'may be said 7 that twoforces areexerted on the hinge by the spring, one abending 'movement'due to the bending of 'the bodywherebythe'ends exert a bending stress on the hinge, and the. other for convenience may be termed a compression force whereby the hooks are forced.

When the is: greatest'and thisg radually decreases as spring 13 of spring "metal, which serves to i holdthe box ini open' or "closed position as .The invention is=i11usn-tt a11nens-areas:hereinafterd r be Th ps 1 enable the spring 13tobe readily and conveniently attached; to or detached fromthe hinge withoutfthe inconvenienceof" disassembling the o ,.;'hinge'- structure. Qwingtothe'extremesim- Fi 2 i a perspective of one of th hi -191 i,plicity.. otfconstruction the straps maybe.

a "manufacturedat'a minimum cost, and as,

assembled a hinge *is produced; which is sturdy; durable and has no parts'Whichare liable to] break or get out of-order. TheE single 7 leaf "spring is, of I decided adx' antagef i because of its convenient, assembly. with the v I, hinge structure and 'its'fsturdiness andrethe coveropens returning the spring to nor- "Inal position. VVhenfully closed the com-- 'pression force; will' not tend to open the box .because'the line of force is on theinside of the pivotal axis, but when moved slightly to- Ward open position thecompression force functions to continueth'e opening movement.

: A cardinal feature ofthe invention consists inthe spring arrangement and manner offattaching'the'spring to the hinge straps which enables the spring to be conveniently attached and detached It will be underthe hinge straps 6 and 7 that the ends of the spring are clamped in parallelism with the side portions of the boX and cover respectively in all angular positions of the cover. This not only holds the spring rigidly in place but produces a greater spring action, for a given sized spring, than in case the ends merely hooked over edges or through slots. By virtue of the rightangle end of leaf portions 3 being disposed between the ends of the spring and the side portions ofthe box and cover respectively, the ends of the spring are prevented from gouging into or through said side portions (which are ordinarily constructed of relativelynon-resistant cardboard) during repeated opening andclosin'g of the cover.

While the form of hinge shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one embodiment herein dis-- closed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in varlous forms all coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hinge for jewelryboXes and the like comprising a pair of pivoted hinge members, each member having a metal leaf portion fixed to the inner surface of the adj oining boX ends, a hinge strap detachably connected to'each of said leaf portions,means for pivotally connecting said hinge straps together, an outwardly projecting lip on the free edge of'each of said straps and a unitary spring having hooked end portions engaging between said outwardly projecting portions and said leaf portions.

2. A hinge for jewelry boxes and the like comprising a'pair of pivoted hinge members, each member having a base plate and a metal leaf portion extending substantially at right angles therefrom and secured to the inne'r surfaces of the adjoining box ends, a hinge strap detachably connected to each of said leaf portions, means for pivotally connecting said hinge straps together, an out wardly projecting lip in the free edge of each of said straps remote from said pivotal connectioii,v the said free edges overlying said leaf portions distant from said base plates, and a unitary spring having hooked end portions of appreciable length clamped between said outwardly pro ecting portions and said leaf portions and lying flatwise upon said leaf portions, whereby the position of said end portions is rigidly fixed.

Signed by me at North Attleboro, Massachusetts, this 21st day of November, 1924.

RUSSELL I. RHODES. 

